Fight4Whitby: Delight as campaigner wins 10 year legal battle to recoup £10m for Whitby Harbour repairs

Mr Justice Sweeting ruled in favour of resident Sue Boyce - who cashed in her Premium Bonds - emergency money set aside for her retirement – to fund the case.

Sue said she was “delighted and relieved” after receiving the ruling on Friday afternoon: “It has taken an enormous amount of my life, but the judgement today makes it all worthwhile.

"I’m just grateful for all the support, especially from (former Mayor) John Freeman.

"I feel relief that this has happened at long last – this has dragged on for so long.”

Collectively Sue and a group of Whitby residents, Fight4Whitby, has spent over £100,000 in legal fees to take the case against North Yorkshire Council (NYC), which took over from Scarborough Borough Council two years ago.

The former strategic planning manager for IBM said she’d always felt it unfair that money raised on harbourland was being spent elsewhere and feared without maintenance of the port’s piers and extensions “the whole town will flood”.

NYC could still appeal, but if unsuccessful, it will mean millions raised from carparks, built on reclaimed harbour land, dating back to 2015, will have to be spent on the maintenance of the harbour.

The Judge praised Sue for her “thorough historical research”. At the outset Sue naively thought the auditor would do the "detective work". In fact it's up to the objector to provide the evidence

He agreed with her that the Whitby Urban District Council Act of 1905 that states all revenue raised from the harbours should be used to maintain them is still in force.

Also that income raised from the reclaimed land – now used as car parks – to the east of the railway line, except for the station and the Co-op, should be ring-fenced for the maintenance of the harbour.

Costs of £80,000 have been awarded to Sue, who could only be named last year after the lifting of a gagging clause.

A gagging clause (under Schedule 11 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014) was applied by Scarborough Council’s external auditors Mazars early on in the case, with Sue only allowed to discuss the matter with her lawyers – or face criminal prosecution.

Last year NYC said £27m is needed to resolve all the problems at Scarborough and Whitby harbours - a a figure Sue felt from her own extensive research looked "way too low".

NYC’s corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, said: “We are disappointed by the decision, which has taken many months to be handed down.

"We are reviewing the decision in detail and considering our next steps. The decision will have no impact on our goal to promote a thriving harbour in Whitby and invest in its future.”

The judge will decide on Monday whether he will allow an appeal by the council against his judgement. If not the council has under a month to take the case to the Court of Appeal.